Of Waves and Revelations
by deepfathom
Summary: A semi-Hiccstrid oneshot involving a deadly tsunami and the awkward not-so-secret it drags out into the open. Set during RTTE season 2 and based on a very odd dream.
There had been no warning this time, no stampeding Rumblehorn or fleeing Smokebreaths to raise the alarm. The massive swell of water heaving toward Dragon's Edge was nearly on top of them as Fishlegs screamed from the lookout. All about the island, heads snapped up, eyes widened, stomachs twisted. Riders dropped everything, called for their dragons and ran for the hills...

All except one.

Hiccup was sprinting through the brush in the opposite direction, straight _toward_ the oncoming destruction. He wasn't losing his mind; he wasn't trying to pull a death-defying stunt or prove anything. He had a very small life to save and not much time to do it in.

Barely out of babyhood, the little girl had washed up on a soggy plank two weeks before, starving, dirty, and crying for her mother. Shocked and horrified, the riders took her in immediately, hoping against hope to see sails on the horizon, some sign of a vessel bearing rescued parents in search of a daughter.

Days passed.

No such view ever came, no vessel appeared. Only more driftwood-bits and pieces of the shipwreck the child had survived-washed into the harbor. The group of young Vikings were all that was left for her.

Things were difficult at first, nearly straining tempers and sleep schedules to the snapping point, but the new arrival managed to snuggle and giggle her way into each of their hearts. The routine of keeping the tot fed and clean and entertained became more of a privilege than a chore. In fact, Hiccup had to break up an argument one day between the twins and Snotlout over who got to take the next tending shift. All the while, the little one stood by to watch, grinning and gurgling as if she knew exactly what was going on.

But she couldn't stay here forever, they quickly realized. She needed parents. She needed a family to take care of her full time, which was something the riders were not prepared or qualified to do.

Later, Hiccup sent word to his father, asking advice. Stoick's return message brought encouraging news of a couple on Berk who was never able to have children of their own. Elated, the riders began planning a quick journey home, expecting to deliver her from the sky into the arms of a new family like a flock of scaly storks.

But that would never happen if Hiccup didn't locate her.

Within the five seconds it took to turn his back and reach for another sheet of parchment, she'd toddled quietly off. When he faced around again, all he found was a childless patch of ground, which brought on a fit of panic.

That was nearly ten minutes ago, before the warning cry, before any of them knew they were in grave danger.

How could a person that tiny move so impossibly fast, he wondered and quickly set off in pursuit. Certain she was merely challenging him to an impish, impromptu game of hide-and-seek, it wasn't until he'd checked all her usual nearby haunts that he really started to worry.

This was not a game.

She'd wandered too far.

Then, at Fishlegs' distant yell, he'd broken into a mad dash through the woods, screaming the name they'd given her and watching the sea grow before the island. Branches lashed his face and arms while thickets caught his clothes with scraggly claws. He stumbled over loose rocks and twisting roots, uttering an involuntary grunt of frantic frustration each time.

He couldn't afford the slightest delay.

He was alone in this particular area of the island, solely responsible for this innocent, helpless little life.

With one last shout, he burst into a clearing, jerking to a halt at the sight of fully-grown trees being ripped from the earth by the roots. The ocean had arrived in all its unstoppable power, climbing rapidly up the shoreline to invade their haven—

A glimpse of a blond head and a makeshift green tunic caught his eye. She must have come to watch the gulls zoom between their rocky eyries, a fascinating spectacle Fishlegs had pointed out while on a walk with her the other day.

Much too fascinating, apparently, to wait for a grown-up hand to hold while viewing it a second time.

Perched on a doomed outcropping, the girl stood rigid with terror, twiggy-thin arms trembling at the approaching cataclysm. Then came a wail and a flood of tears that could rival the very waters about to swallow her…

From behind, long limbs enfolded her safe and tight, scooping her away from the brink just as the cold sea touched the tips of her bare toes.

There would be no prize for the nets of Ran today, no sacrifice to appease the enraged sea-goddess.

Not if Hiccup had anything to say about it.

With the screeching girl wrapped securely in his hold, he scrabbled up the slope and back through the woods. Curling himself over to protect her from the same scratching assault he'd experienced on the way there, he plowed blindly on. With the wave a mere fifteen feet behind and gaining fast, all he could comprehend was his rapid gasps, his pounding strides, and the need to keep moving up the steepening slope at all costs.

"Hiccup!" A voice shrieked over the roar of destruction.

Before reaching the top of the ledge, he lost his footing, managing at the last second to claw to a strained, one-handed stop, other arm clutching his precious cargo tightly.

Muscles burning and shredded fingers stinging like he'd touched a nest of hornets, he clung to that crumbling ledge with all the strength he could muster.

 _So close. They were so, so close!_

Unrelenting, the roiling sea and the debris it carried crept higher, easily slipping up his legs. The girl raised a fresh howl as something tangled with Hiccup's legs, dragging him down. He felt the child slip from his grasp…

…to be tugged in the opposite direction by a pair of hands.

Oh, thank Asgard.

"Hang on!" someone else shouted.

"No, get out of here!" Hiccup hollered to his panting companions, grip failing. "GO!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Astrid appeared above him, snatching him by the wrists before the current could suck him in. "Not without you!"

Within the next second, he was over the brink on a dry ledge…which was being devoured by the swirling torrent. He didn't have a second to even consider standing on his own two legs to run, however, as Astrid swept him up and scaled the rest of the craggy slope like a sure-footed mountain goat.

At the tip top of the highest point of the island, she halted breathlessly, swinging around to gape at the melee. Soon, joined by the other riders and dragons, the group held a lengthy moment of silence, watching their ruined outpost drift away in pieces. The wave seemed to have reached its peak, now wrapping itself around Dragon's Edge to continue on its deadly path.

"Well," sighed Snotlout with a shrug, "there goes the neighborhood."

"Ooh," whispered the toddler from Fishlegs' arms, suddenly drawing attention to Astrid and Hiccup with a curious gesture and an approving clap.

"The Tiny One is very astute in her observations," Tuffnut said, scratching his chin and sharing a sly glance with his twin. "Ooh."

"Yes, I agree, dear brother," Ruffnut replied. "Very much 'ooh'."

"Uh…" Hiccup muttered, blood rising through his cheeks, "you can put me down now, Astrid."

She snapped out of her adrenaline-induced stupor. "Huh?"

"I said you can put me down now."

"Oh!" she blurted, swinging him a little too zealously to the ground. "I was just…"

"No it's ok—"

"You saved—"

"You would've done the same—"

"—couldn't leave you—"

"—lucky you were there—"

"—all happened so fast…"

"…yes, well… _ahem_ …"

Hiccup ended the jumbled exchange with a forced cough into a fist and the two shuffled under the knowing smirks of their comrades.

"Oh, please," Ruff waved off their pitiful attempt at a straight face. "We've been on to you for months now."

"You guys aren't exactly subtle," said Fishlegs, failing to hide a grin.

"Yeah, we're not stupid, you know," Tuff chimed in. Batting his eyelashes in a hokey, lovesick expression, he clasped his hands to one side of his head. "Oh, Hiccup, your eyes positively light up like Fireworms any time she graces a room-"

"They do not!" Hiccup snapped, making a point of stepping away from Astrid.

"And Astrid," Ruff joined in, adopting much the same position, "you practically swoon at the very whisper of his name-"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh, barf-"

"Sorry, kids!" Snotlout cut in with an obnoxious snort. "Secret's out and you're just making things weirder, so shut up and kiss already!"

"You know what?" The faintest hint of sneaky playfulness flickered through Astrid's voice after a pause. "For once, I agree with him."

"Whaa—?!" Hiccup yelped as he was twirled into a flamboyant dip. Though ready to protest, Astrid gently caught the words between their touching lips before they could escape…

Almost too willingly, he gave in and let her hold them there.


End file.
